Hurricanes
November 2021
Hurricane - Mary Oliver
It didn’t behave
Like anything you had
Ever imagined. The wind
Tore at the trees, the rain fell for days slant and hard.
The back of the hand
To everything. I watched the trees bow and their leaves fall
And crawl back into the earth.
As though, that was that.
Chikumbuso, like this tree, lost much of itself during Covid 2021. It was a loss that all of us felt and it
happened in a way we had not anticipated. Our vibrant leaves crawled into the ground. Our schools closed, our students lost their focus, our lunches were cancelled, parents lost their jobs. Hunger was the daily fare. All of us in Ng’ombe felt the back of the hand.
As the Center stood naked and alone we were reminded that our legacy is that of a healer.
Chikumbuso is a center of love. How do we bring this broken refuge back to life?
We turned to our students first… going out to their homes with daily work folders and library books, we motivated students through a school wide evaluation in Math and English and adjusted their grade levels. We encouraged the eight students who had failed their 12th grade exams to return in September for tutoring. Restoring our classrooms healed the old cracks and brought new life to the Center. A new library birthed a sense of anticipation and a desire to continue on our mission of education.
The distribution of food to 1200 families in our community through both food for work and donations brought strength and confirmation that Chikumbuso would remain an integral part of their lives.
… listen now to what happened to the actual trees:
Toward the end of that summer they
Pushed new leaves from their stubbed limbs.
It was the wrong season, yes, but they couldn’t stop. They
Looked like telephone poles and didn’t
Care. And after the leaves came blossoms. For some things
There are no wrong seasons.
Which is what I dream of for me.
There are no wrong seasons.
“I see poverty as a tree whose leaves are blown away, a woman without leaves, she is crushing inside. When life is hand to mouth, Chikumbuso puts a smile on our faces. It is our refuge.” -Gertrude (General Manager)
Your love and support for Chikumbuso brings these smiles. Our tree will continue to blossom in the new year with 88 students in college, 183 sponsored children, full time classes including 30 new students in our tailoring class. Chikumbuso will continue to support the community with food distributions and love.
Thank you for helping our tree to blossom again. With so much appreciation, Linda Wilkinson, Founder